Rueter last man standing after Estes' defeat

Published 4:00 am, Friday, May 2, 1997

PITTSBURGH - The Giants' left-handed starting combo of Shawn Estes and Kirk Rueter had a pretty good run going. Until this week the Giants were 8-0 in games the two started.

Estes got all the ink because he was 4-0, while Rueter was largely a footnote because he was 1-0 with three no-decisions.

But the truth is, even though Estes has superior stuff and perhaps a brighter future, Rueter has quietly emerged as the Giants' most reliable starting pitcher and a significant reason for their 17-8 start.

When Estes and the Giants lost to the Pirates, 3-2, on Thursday, Rueter was left as the only starter without a defeat.

Rueter is practically the definition of consistency. In his first 67 big-league starts he has allowed three runs or fewer 53 times. That includes his last outing Tuesday night in St. Louis, when he departed with a 7-1 lead and watched the Giants bullpen blow what should have been his second victory. The Cardinals stormed back to win, 9-7.

Rueter's had to content himself with knowing he's helped the team win, because his record makes him look like a nonfactor.

"As a starting pitcher you can't always control wins and losses," said Rueter, who will start at Candlestick against the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday in the finale of a series that begins Friday night. "As a starter you want to go six or seven innings. The way this team has come back with late heroics, you just want to go out and keep us in the game so we can win. I'm happy doing that."

While Estes is becoming a star, Rueter is just trying to get people to pronounce his name right (it's REED-er). But their stats after five starts aren't much different.

While Estes is just 24 years old and still has much to learn, the 27-year-old Rueter has already had a turbulent big-league career.

He emerged like a bolt of lightning, debuting with Montreal in 1993 by going 8-0 and winning seven of 10 decisions the next year.

After starting his career 20-6, he finally began to struggle last year and became persona non grata in Montreal, where he had differences with pitching coach Joe Kerrigan.

Rueter has always liked to work fast, but when he started losing Kerrigan told him to slow his delivery and pitch more deliberately. That made Rueter uncomfortable. Kerrigan also told Rueter to rely less on his curveball, his signature pitch.

"It's hard to change what you've been doing your whole career, and that's what the coaches wanted me to do," Rueter said. "Even my teammates over there told me to work fast. When I knew I'd be traded, Jeff Fassero said, "Wherever you go, work on your curveball. I know they don't want you to throw it, but you throw it. You'll be fine.' "

The Expos demoted Rueter to the minors last May and again in July. At the end of that month, the Expos sent him to the Giants for San Francisco's own troubled pitcher, Mark Leiter.

It was the proverbial change-of-scenery trade, and it worked out for both guys. Leiter pitched well enough during his two months in Montreal to command a two-year, $4.3 million contract from the Phillies. In San Francisco, Rueter went 1-2 with a 1.93 ERA, securing a role in GM Brian Sabean's rebuilding plan.

Oddly enough, Leiter publicly ripped Giants pitching coach Dick Pole for not helping him and praised Kerrigan for turning his career around. Now, Rueter is critical of Kerrigan while grateful to Pole for letting him pitch the way he wants to and for fixing his curveball.

"Here, Dick gave me the confidence to throw it," Rueter said. "Over there, they just said, "Don't get beat with it.'

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"I feel comfortable over here. Dusty (Baker) and Dick told me when I first got here to work fast, the way I'm used to. In spring training they said I'm in the rotation and told me to do my own thing. I'm not the kind of pitcher who likes to play mental games with myself.

"I wanted to go somewhere where they wouldn't put too many things in my head," he said. "This is a perfect situation for me." &lt;

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